


out in the darkness

by DesertLily



Series: Found Family Bingo 2020 [9]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Canon Era, Canonical Character Death, Enjolras Has Feelings, Family of Choice, Fluff, Fluff with a Sad Ending, Found Family, Found Family Bingo 2020, Gen, Jean Prouvaire POV, Les Amis as a family, Les Amis de l'ABC - Freeform, Non-Binary Jean Prouvaire, On The Barricade, Stargazing, Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:14:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29076936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertLily/pseuds/DesertLily
Summary: On the barricade, Jehan and Enjolras watch the stars.
Relationships: Enjolras & Jean Prouvaire
Series: Found Family Bingo 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889911
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: Found Family Bingo





	out in the darkness

**Author's Note:**

> For the 'stars' prompt for Found Family Bingo!

Jehan Prouvaire had given many thoughts to the concept of death but very few towards their own. After all, there was something so...intriguing about the end of life; the beauty of life flickering out like a flame or going out with all the grand drama of an exploding star. There was so much mystery as to what truly came next. Heaven? Hell? Nothing? Or something different entirely? Jehan was not actively looking for their own death - quite the contrary! In fact, they were quite content with being alive. But they did not fear death either. Perhaps that was why they were so confident about going to the barricade. If they lived, they lived to bring about a new dawn. If they died, then they died for what they believed in. And truly? What else could a poet want? 

It wasn’t just a lack of fear for death that drew them to the barricade. It was a sense of pure loyalty to the eight men that were far more their brothers than they were their friends. Even Grantaire who believed in so little was enough to call them there; if only so they could prove to him that as intriguing as nihilism could be, there was nothing wrong with hope. In fact, it was the greatest gift anyone could give and the greatest weapon anyone could wield. And in their eyes, no one did say anywhere as well as Enjolras did. That was something them and Grantaire both agreed on. Though, they agreed for different reasons. Whilst Grantaire looked to Enjolras with hopeless loyalty and desire, Jehan looked to him with admiration akin to that someone would have for an older sibling. 

They kept enough diaries and records that they could probably find out exactly when each of their friends grew to become family, but the date didn’t matter to Jehan. Only the sentiment did. For they had eight brothers that never questioned their name or gender; that kept their secrets as if they were their own. Jehan had long since left any biological relations behind, but the other Amis? They were more home than any childhood house had ever been. Jehan had never asked if the others had felt the same towards them but then again, they had never needed to. For they were romantic enough to know that actions spoke louder than words. Small moments of sincerity and solidarity that they would treasure until the end. 

One such moment occurred with Enjolras on their last night on Earth - though, neither knew that yet. How could they when they still held onto such deep rooted dreams of insurgency and revolution? They still dreamed that tomorrow would bring about a new day; a new age as the people of Paris finally rose up to take down their oppressors. It was during a brief moment of peace; the fighting on both sides had stopped for the night. All of them had lost whatever degree of innocence they’d had when the fighting had begun; when they had fired a gun for the first time;  _ when they had killed for the first time _ . 

Jehan was grateful for the moment of relief and had decided to spend it simply...sitting down, resting against a wall and staring at the sky. Their gaze was so transfixed on the stars glimmering above that they hardly noticed when someone sat down besides them, somewhat startled by the clatter of a gun coming to rest on the ground. “Most men I see are praying to every God they can conceive existing. Yet here I find you lost in the stars.” There was no malice in Enjolras’s voice, only amusement. 

“With so many men already devoting the night to God, I assumed he would hardly notice that my voice is missing.” Jehan shrugged as they turned their gaze to their friend. It was oddly comforting to not be alone. “Besides, I take my comfort from the stars far more than I ever would prayer.” 

There was a pause as Enjolras’s eyes met theirs, his eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly. “And why is that?” He moved to wrap an arm around them as Jehan rested their head upon his shoulder. The day had been hell enough that it seemed even Enjolras wasn’t immune to a moment of comfort, Not that they would complain. “What is it that the stars offer you?” 

Jehan mulled over the question for a few moments, thinking carefully as they crafted an answer. “Reassurance. Security.” That definitely gained his attention. “Men live and die but the stars always remain. No matter how many years pass, the stars are always there shining down on us and watching us. They always light the way to the future and will continue to do so long after we are gone.” Their gaze turned upwards once more. “No matter what happens, tomorrow always comes. Life always finds a way to continue on.” They smiled. 

Enjolras laughed. “I think perhaps you’ve spent too long with your head stuck in poetry books, Jehan. But...I understand, I think. In times like this, the future is what can fuel us to carry on. The prospect of a better France; of a better world.” He hummed. “You know, I’ve heard stories about the stars before. I think I even used to be able to name a few constellations but such times have long since passed me by that their names fail me…” 

“I don’t mind teaching you.” So Jehan spent the night teaching tales and constellations to a man they would gladly call brother, only stopping when sleep claimed them. Both of their dreams were filled not with the horrors they had seen, but the hope for the future and what tomorrow could bring. 

But those dreams remained dreams as reality was far too cruel to let them truly come true. Still, the night looking at the stars and the sincerity of the time spent with Enjolras comforted Jehan was a blindfold covered their eyes. It kept them calm as they were pushed to their knees. It kept them certain as the gun was passed to their forehead and they spoke their final words. “ _ Long live the future! _ ” 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated or hmu @ desert-lily on tumblr


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